<p>TA -
I also want to encourage you to stay with the process, and work with the opportunities you have to improve yourself. Just because you have Asperger's does not mean there is no hope for you in "social" jobs. It does mean that you will have to work harder, learn to appear pleasant even when you are frustrated, and, when things go wrong, analyze the situation and learn from it.</p>
<p>True, you will never be the greatest salesman, but almost every workplace has a job that is suited to someone with Asperger's. I would encourage you to volunteer for inventory or bookkeeping jobs, or anything along the lines of work which seems tedious or too detailed for others. Good luck with your job search, and be sure to play up your strengths!</p>
<p>OP - I didn't read your post as looking down on minimum wage jobs, but rather as feeling overwhelmed by them and feeling humiliated by the difficulties they involve. In this lousy economy, maybe you can get your parents to realize that it's difficult for anyone to find a job. For those minimum wage jobs, you'll be competing with adults who, for example, are facing foreclosure and now have to try to find a second job.</p>
<p>Would your parents accept volunteer work as a substitute for paid employment? You can list volunteer work on a resume, and it can help to develop skills that will help in getting a "real" job later on. Plus, it would give you a chance to practice the social interaction skills in a lower pressure, nonthreatening environment.</p>
<p>As an aside note, you might want to check out Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America. She worked a series of minimum wage jobs - waitress, Walmart worker, nursing home employee, maid - and found that all of them were quite difficult and required much more skill than she thought they would.</p>
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As an aside note, you might want to check out Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed: On (not) getting by in America. She worked a series of minimum wage jobs - waitress, Walmart worker, nursing home employee, maid - and found that all of them were quite difficult and required much more skill than she thought they would.
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<p>Great book. The author is a well educated, articulate lady and she said that not once did anyone comment on her smarts, etc.</p>
<p>I totally understand about the minimum wage jobs. I can see my Aspie son being a great success as a college lecturer in English or History, but I think he'd be a dismal failure as a waiter or fast food worker. Different skill sets. </p>
<p>I know a lawyer who I'm sure is an undiagnosed Aspie. He is quite odd and has fairly poor interpersonal skills, but brilliant and made a great deal of money serving as an expert witness in usury cases. He'd probably get fired from Target or McDonalds within a week, but is paid $500 an hour for his usury expertise.</p>
<p>Perhaps look into lab or computer work. I'm also going to recommend a book: Do What You Are. It goes into suitable occupations for different personality type. I think some of the jobs for introverted people might be good matches.</p>
<p>missypie, I have questioned a high school classmate and sort of riend of one of my daughter's...intelligent but with the social skills of a mentally challenged young man. I gave him a job a couple of years ago, when he couldn't get along with his fellow employees ( at a large liquor store ) Once I took him on , I regretted it because although he was dependable, hard working and articulate, he simply had no people skills and freaked out our customers with his bizarre behaviour.
I never knew if it was because he is just immature socially or truly has some issues, such as Asperger's</p>
<p>When I first got into education and encountered Aspie kids, I tried to describe the symptoms to someone who was studying engineering at Stanford. Her answer: "you have just described half of my classmates"
Ultimate career goals would be something far out on the bleeding edge of technology/computers where you wouldn't have to interact with anyone more "touchy-feely" than the average engineer is (not very) More reachable jobs early on would be data entry type things. I have no idea if someone like H&R Block hires folks just for data entry during tax season, but if they do, I see that as a good job for you. Put in the numbers, run the program, print the spreadsheet, grab the next file. No dealing with customers. If you do your work well management won't worry if you can entertain your co-workers during breaks or if you just read a book at lunch by yourself.</p>
<p>It sounds to me that the jobs you've held are not a good fit for you. Being sociable can be difficult, I know, I have that problem too.</p>
<p>Talk to your school counselor or person at your school's career center (if you have one) to get ideas about jobs you might be a good fit to work at.</p>
<p>In my area, a few teens work as sign spinners (they hold signs for open houses and such - some dance, some just stand there) there is little to no direct interaction. Assembly work - do the same thing time and time again, and you are discouraged from talking to anyone.</p>
<p>Sounds like you've worked in retail - I know I would be horrible at that. Learn your weaknesses and strengths and focus on what you do best. There's a spot for everybody in this world, and there's a spot for you too.</p>
<p>How about working in a nursing home? My friend's Aspie son spent the summer after his high school graduation interning at the local adult daycare center. It was a big success. The elderly loved his quirkiness. The duties that he performed were a good match for his strong points. He served food to the patients, helped to clean up when they were done eating, transported them via wheelchairs throughout the facility, read stories to them, and kind of acted like a surrogate grandchild to them. While many people may notice an aspie's behavior or personality as being "off of center", the elderly don't seem a bit phased by it. They are just happy and grateful for the company and help.</p>
<p>during the summer, i work as an SAT tutor for a test-prep company. you have to work with people face-to-face, but it's a job where your intelligence wouldn't be wasted.</p>
<p>If you don't have any physical disabilities and you are not extremely tiny, you should be able to lift 50 lbs. If you cannot, I'd suggest you take a weight training or strength training class so that you could qualify for jobs that have that requirement--it is quite common.</p>
<p>I was also going to suggest cleaning houses or hotel/motel rooms--you work by yourself, the work is routine, and you don't have to think about more than one thing at a time. I did maid work in college and I really enjoyed it--if I were ever out of work and in dire need of a job that was always my backup plan--I can always get a cleaning job!</p>
<p>^ Now that I think about it, I probably could lift 50 lbs because I feel that I have as much physical strength as anyone else. The scale I used was really old, so it was probably broken.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone! I am seriously going to take note of these suggestions.</p>
<p>Hey TA, this Cha-Cha that toneranger spoke of sounds ideal for you. It will work for you with your studies not being neglected and you don't have to talk with people face to face sounds like the perfect fit.
I really think you need to check it out. If you are looking for a guide let me know how I can help you.
jdstokes.</p>
<p>No problem. I checked it out and found out that they didn't have any openings. I was disappointed because I do feel that it's an ideal job as well. I'll sign up as soon as they have job offers and use their service in the meantime! Are you a guide yourself?</p>
<p>As for my getting a job resolution, I just completed an application for a job at my school's daycare (kids like me for some reason lol) and I'm schedule to take a test to work for the Census Bureau on Sunday. I really hope I pass. Wish me luck :)</p>
<p>I attempted to apply to for a data entry job, I found out that the job was located too far and the hours weren't flexible enough to correspond with my classes. :(</p>
<p>I also wrote down the contact information for this center where they are hiring people to care for and assist mentally challenged adults and children in tasks. I already have some experience in volunteering for this, so I'm more than confident with sending my resume.</p>
<p>I asked my school about work-study, but they're always full as usual. They did put me on a waiting list though.</p>
<p>Guess where I found out about these job offers? My school! LOL. My school has a career resource center, which I probably didn't notice before because they did not advertise it as much. There are flyers all over the place for jobs and networking websites if you look inside the right buildings (Hint: Near the tuition office and activities center).</p>
<p>The career development center also had many papers that gave advice about the job market, writing resumes and being prepared for resumes. Let's just say I collected them like a crazy person and stapled them together.</p>
<p>I found out most of this today. I don't know whether to feel silly or grateful, but I am happy about my sudden rush in motivation.</p>
<p>Excellent news! Now you know where to go for help---The Career and Development Center.
Besides being a source for finding about job opportunities, most College Career Centers also help students by offering practice mock job interviews and resume writing.</p>